1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pretreatment liquids, ink sets, ink-jot recording apparatus, methods of recording, and recording media.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of special paper, such as gloss coated paper, matt coated paper, gravure coated paper, and the like, are known and are used for ink-jet recording. The special paper is used to obtain image with a high optical density and chroma. The special paper is manufactured by applying a material for improving printing quality, e.g., fine particles, surfactant, and/or the like, to a surface of a recording medium, such as plain paper. The cost of the special paper is greater than the cost of plain paper. Moreover, when a user selectively uses both the special paper and plain paper, the user has to switch between the special paper and plain paper by replacing the special paper positioned in a paper tray with plain paper as required, or vice versa.
The printing speed of known ink-jet recording apparatus recently has increased, and a quick-drying ink composition having high permeability to a recording medium has been studied. Nevertheless, as the permeability of the ink increases, the quality of the image on the recording medium deteriorates. In particular, the optical density and feathering, which are affected by a fiber of the recording paper, are deteriorated.
To address these issues, in a known method of recording al image on a recording medium, such as the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H10(1998)-250216, color ink is dispensed onto a surface of the recording medium after a pretreatment liquid containing the surfactant is applied the entire surface of the recording medium using a roller. Nevertheless, the pretreatment liquid is relatively expensive, and to cover the entire surface of the recording medium, a relatively large amount of the pretreatment liquid is consumed.
In another known method of recording an image on a recording medium, such as the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. H4(1992)-259590, H6(1994)-92010, 2000-34432, and 2002-205457, color ink is dispensed onto a surface of the recording paper after dispensing a pretreatment liquid containing the fine particles onto a recording area and onto an area in the vicinity of the recording paper using an inkjet method.